This invention relates to a deburring robot, and more particularly relates to a deburring robot which is capable of adjusting the grinder position as it performs deburring, in accordance with burr position data.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional deburring robot of this type. The deburring robot (hereinafter referred to as the robot) comprises an arm-like member 1 and a controller 2 for controlling its motion. The component 1 and the controller 2 are connected with each other through a wire 3. To a wrist 1A at the end of the arm-like member 1 which is movable relative to a pedestal 4 is mounted a grinder 5, which serves to remove burrs 6A on a workpiece 6 secured to a clamping bed 8 in accordance with the positions taught and stored in the controller 2 beforehand. The robot sections move as indicated by the arrows J.sub.1 through J.sub.6 showing the motions of the joints, each joint being provided with a servomotor (not shown). The position of the grinder 5 in the X-, Y- and Z-axis directions is changed by the motions of the joints J.sub.1 to J.sub.3 and the direction of the grinder 5 is changed by the motions of the joints J.sub.4 to J.sub.6. In practice, the positioning of the grinder 5 is effected by means of a microcomputer (not shown) through simultaneous motions of the joints J.sub.1 to J.sub.6.
Between the grinder 5 and the wrist 1A is provided a pressure sensor 7 for detecting the pressurizing force of the grinding wheel 5A of the grinder 5. This pressure sensor 7 enables the burrs 6A to be removed under a constant pressure. Technical descriptions regarding such a pressure sensor can be found, for example, in "An Approach to Automated Deburring by Robot Manipulators", Transaction of the ASME, Vol. 108, pp, 354-359, (December, 1986).
In a conventional deburring robot as described above, the grinder 5 performs deburring at the points taught beforehand by the controller 2, so that if there are any deviations in the positioning of the work 6 on the clamping bed 8 from the predetermined positions, fluctuations will arise in the amount of burrs removed, resulting in deterioration of the finishing accuracy. As another example, a robot construction is disclosed in Japanese patent laid-open No. 256802/85, in which detection of positional deviations due to backlash and hysteresis in the rotating and sliding sections of the robot is effected by means of, for example, a detector for detecting shaft rotational positions of the rotating sections, the detection values of which enable the points taught to be corrected.